Eighth Report of the State Entomologist. 



199^ 



munis (Gyll.). The perfect insects into which they develop — known 



from their habit, when placed on their back, of springing into the air in 



order to regain their feet in the fall — as "snap- 



ping-bettles," are represented in part by Figure 



40. Figure 41 shows, in enlargement, one of 



the wire-worms in the act of burrowing into 



and feeding on a kernel of corn. Figure 42 



represents one of the common cut-Avornis, 



Agrotis clandestina, in the Avell-known curled 



attitude that it assumes upon being unearthed. / 



Figure 43 is one of the thousand-legged worms — fig. 4o.— Melanotus 



JuluS COeruleocinctuS Wood. communis, natural size- 



. , £ ^^ c ■^ £ and enlarged. (After 



Ihe Wire-worms — members or tJie lannly ot Fiteh.) 

 Elateridcn — are very numerous in species, but the early stages- 

 and life-histories of but a fe^v have been studied, and even those 

 are imperfectly known. Their faithful studr 

 is a great desideratum, but unfortunately the 

 difficulties that it presents has deterred most 

 of our entomologists from its prosecution. 



The Country Gentleman has presented its 

 readers with many excellent articles on Aviri- 

 worms, remedies for them, etc., which may be con 

 suited to advantage by those who are sufferers from their depredations. 

 Among the.se, the following issues may be cited: May 8, 1877, p. 281;. 

 June 14, 1877, p. 377; August 5, 1877, p. 220; December 11, 1879, p. 

 793; February 8, 1883, p. 105; May 3], 1883, p. 441; November 20, 

 1883, p. 961; April 12, 1888, p. 284. There are also many others, 

 which may readily be found by turning to the elaborate and careful 

 indexes that accompany each volume. — C.-G., November 29, 1888. 



Fig. 41. — A wire-worm at- 

 tacking corn. (After 

 Fitch.) 



Fig. 48. — The w-marked 

 cut-worm of agrotis 



CLANDESTINA. 



Fig. 43 .— Thousand-legged worm, Julus c<eru 

 LEOciNCTus Wood. 



Note — A careful study of wire-worms, extending over three years, ha» 

 since been made at Cornell Univei'sity, Ithaca, N. Y., by Professors Com- 

 stock and Slingerland, and the results published in " Bulletin 33 of the 

 Cornell University Experiment Station," for November, 1891. The 

 experiments conducted in the course of the study embraced trials with 

 various insecticides for the destruction of the larvti? and beetles; killing- 



